JFK and the Arts

From: ARTSEDGE
Series: Art In Camelot
Length: 08:25

A look at changes in art policy during the Kennedy Administration, narrated by Richard Dreyfuss. Read the full description.

Piece Audio

Playing: JFK and the Arts
From: ARTSEDGE

No_time_for_ugliness_1_000060_small This story is narrated by Richard Dreyfuss. We always look for clues on Inauguration Day about what the new Administration will bring. And at his swearing-in, President Kennedy gave an unusual signal. He let America know that – whatever else it did – the Kennedy Administration was going to spend time and attention promoting The Arts in America. The president followed through on the promise of that inauguration. In the thousand-or-so days before President Kennedy was killed, opera singers, ballet dancers, and some of the greatest international and American classical musicians all performed at the White House. The famous painting, the Mona Lisa paid its first and only visit to the United States. The shape of federal art and architecture was changed forever and the White House went through a renovation that revolutionized the way Americans thought about art history.

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Piece Description

This story is narrated by Richard Dreyfuss. We always look for clues on Inauguration Day about what the new Administration will bring. And at his swearing-in, President Kennedy gave an unusual signal. He let America know that – whatever else it did – the Kennedy Administration was going to spend time and attention promoting The Arts in America. The president followed through on the promise of that inauguration. In the thousand-or-so days before President Kennedy was killed, opera singers, ballet dancers, and some of the greatest international and American classical musicians all performed at the White House. The famous painting, the Mona Lisa paid its first and only visit to the United States. The shape of federal art and architecture was changed forever and the White House went through a renovation that revolutionized the way Americans thought about art history.